The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday the rent bonus for young people that was announced in October and for which the Government of Pedro Sánchez has allocated a budget of 200 million euros.
The bonus will go to people between 18 and 35 years old who are paying rent. Raquel Sánchez, Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, explained at a press conference that this aid is intended to prevent the price of rental housing from being an “obstacle” for the emancipation of these people.
In fact, applicants for this rental voucher will still have to wait between one and two months to be able to apply for the aid, since the mechanisms for channeling the resources to finance them have to be fully defined. Thus, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda must sign agreements with the autonomous communities, since these will be in charge of processing the aid in the last instance and even co-financing part of the benefits.
In order to access the rental bonus, young people will have to meet a series of conditions of an economic nature, type of rental or compatibility with other aid and benefits.
What is the amount and duration of the rental bonus?
The amount of this rental voucher will be 250 euros per month. can be received for two years provided that at that time all the required conditions are met.
What should be the maximum rent amount?
The maximum amount of rent to be able to receive the voucher is 600 euros per month. However, the text will leave in the hands of the autonomous communities the possibility of extending that limit up to 900 euros per month. The rent, in addition, must be on a home that constitutes the habitual residence of the beneficiary.
Can people who have rented a room collect the voucher?
Yes, but they must comply with a rental limit of 300 euros for that room, an amount that in some cases can be raised to 450 euros.
What is the income limit to collect the bonus?
The income limit for each person requesting the rental bonus will be 24,318 euros per year, the amount equivalent to three times the IPREM (Public Indicator of Income for Multiple Effects) after the 2.5% increase contemplated in the 2022 Budgets.
What aid is the rental bonus compatible with?
It cannot be made compatible with other aid for the payment of rent dependent on regional, local administrations or any other administration, except in the case of those intended for groups designated as vulnerable. The rental bonus, in addition, may be received at the same time as the non-contributory pensions and the Minimum Vital Income (IMV).
When will the rental bonus come into force?
The entry into force of the rental voucher will be retroactive with effect from January 1, so the amounts accumulated from that date would be paid.
The controversy over the top price to qualify for the rental bonus
At the time of his announcement, in October 2021, Pedro Sánchez did not refer to any rental price cap in order to receive the bonus. However, the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, clarified that a ceiling of 600 euros would be imposed as the maximum price for the rental of people aspiring to receive the bonus.
Subsequently, the Government came to the fore to deny that a limit rental price was going to be established to be entitled to collect the bonus, due to the commotion generated by the fact that this amount (600 euros per month) would make it difficult to obtain the bonus in large cities, the most stressed by the price of rentals. However, this limit amount of 600 euros has been resumed, which will only be increased if the autonomous communities so decide.
Criticism of the rent bonus: it affects 1.7% of young people and creates “new problems”
This extreme has been criticized by associations such as the Youth Council, which has ensured that the Government’s rental bonus will only benefit 1.7% of emancipated young Spaniards, some 50,000 people who would be exposed to a “sort of lottery” for a measure they consider “wrong”.
In the same line they have been pronounced from the Idealista specialized portal. Its spokesman, Francisco Iñareta, has criticized the Government for “creating new problems” and “mistaking the formula”, since direct rental aid usually leads to an increase in prices and would have a negative effect on young people who cannot access to the bonus.
Thus, although he values the will of the Government, Iñareta has criticized that with the implementation of this bond it becomes a rental subsidizer and that it leaves aside the real debate: that of achieving an affordable rental housing stock.
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